Treating coal, ore, grain, and similar materials



June 16, 1936.

E. OTOOLE TREATING COAL; ORE, GRAIN, AND SIMILAR' MATERIALS Filed April 22, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTQR .ZZWAEO O75o5 BY ATTORNEYS June 16, 1936. E. OTOOLE 2,044,628

TREATING COAL, ORE, GRAIN, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Filed Ap ril 22, 1935 7 sheets-sheet 2 [N VIENTOR EDWARD 0 75045.

BY V ATTORNEY) June 16, 1936. E. OTOOLE 2,044,628

TREATING COAL, ORE, GRAIN, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Filed April 22, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

BY ZZZ Z 075045. 2 ATTORNEY-7' E. OTOOLE June 16, 1936.

TREATING COAL, ORE, GRAIN, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 22, 1933 INVENTOR. I ian/fleo 01004 E.

. ATTORNEYS June 15, was. TOOL 2,0445% TREATING COAL, ORE, GRAIN, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Filed April 22, 1933 7 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR.

%M WZMATTORNEYS June was. E. OTQOLE 2,044,28

Q TREATING COAL, ORE, GRAIN, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Filed April 22, 1935 -'7' Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

41; ATTORNEYS Eon/4E0 0 June 1a, 1936. E OTOOLE A 2,044,628

TREATING COAL, ORE, GRAIN, AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Filed April 22, 1955 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR. [law/1E0 07504::

BY MQ ATTORNEYS Patented June 16, 1936 PATENT OFFICE TREATING ooAL, one, GRAIN, AND

SIMILAR MA'rEnrALs Edward OToole, Gary, W. Va. Application April 22, 1933, Serial No.'667,313

2 Claims. (01'. 34-138) case of grain, to adapt' it to transportation and subsequent use.

The invention provides a compact unitary apparatus in which the steps can be carried out at considerable saving in space and expense compared with other apparatus. In the case of grains, such as wheat, oats, corn, etc., the original material carries foreign matter of all sorts which we can refer to generally as gangue or refuse, the particles of which are of different specific gravity from the clean grain. Such particles may be dirt, cookie, wild rice (in wheat) and other materials.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively a side elevation and a plan of the complete apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the principal parts, taken at right angles to Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a central vertical section on the line 6-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5. is a horizontal section on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal of Fi 3;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 3; a FiFigq. 8 is a vertical section on the line 8--8 of g.

section 'on the line 6-'-6 C Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the coal or other- -material to be treated is brought from the source of supply in its raw condition by a conveyor I], deposited in a small hopper l2 and fed therefrom by a rotary feeder l3 to the upper end of a. vertical cylinder M which, except for the feed opening, is closed by a top l5.

7 Within the cylinder [4 the coal is cleaned and exposed to hot air to dry it. The cylinder is supported on' a frame i6 within which is located a heating furnace H which is supplied with air under pressure through piping i8 and a supply fan l9 (Fig. 2) The air passing up through the cylindrical casing I4 is discharged through pipes of the cone and the 20 near its upper end, either to the atmosphere or to a .dust collector. The refusefrom the cleaned material is discharged through chutes at the sides of the cylinder and the cleaned product is discharged at the center, freed from its excessive moisture and heated to a softening temperature so as to be in condition for pressing into briquettes in the briquetting machine 2|;

(Fig. 1), whence it is carried by a conveyor 22 directly to bins or to cars for shipmen In the case of coal and iron ore, the cleaned material may be so heated in the apparatus as to be adapted for briquetting without the use of an additional binder.

As an alternate arrangement, the air instead of being forced into the pipes l8 and thus into and through the heater, may be drawn in thi ough suitably valved openings by the provision of suc-' tion fans'locatedin the pipes 20 leading out of the upper end of the casing.

Within the stationary cylinder I4 is a concentric cylinder 23 which is adapted 'to be given a spiral movement about its axis by combined oscillation and vertical reciprocation. The cylinder 23 has an outward flange at its upper edge extending approximately to the outer casing M and connected to the latter by a flexible packing, such as the strip of asbestos 25. Similarly the lower edge of the cylinder 23 is connected by a flexible packing of asbestos '26 to the top plate inders and thus retains it all within the inner 35 cylinder.

- Located within the upper end of the cylinder 23 is a receiving cone 28 consisting of a perforated plate pointed upwardin position to receive the crude material from the rotary feeder l3 which serves practically as anmir seal. The cone 28 is supported on a central hollow steel post 29.

. It is perforated with openings which permit some of the material to pass through. The remainder passes down through the space between the edge cylinder 23. For coal, the openings in the cone may be, for example, round openings of one to one and one-half inches in diameter. This spreads the material and exposes it evenly to the hot air. I

Below the conical receiving plate 28 is an inverted conical plate 30 similarly perforated, fixed at its outer edge to the cylinder 23 and opening at the center to leave a space around the post 29.

Below the perforated inverted cone 30 is anlocated chutes 33 (Fig. 9) having their upper ends open to the space within the cylinder at the levels of the edges of the cones 3| and 32 so that the coal from both these plates will be discharged into the chutes 33. r

In the lower part of the cylinder is a cleaning deck indicated at 34 (Fig. 4), and consisting of four sections 34, 34 34 and 34, Fig. 7.- This is a standard type of pneumatic. cleaner. The

material treated above and passed down into the chutes 33 is discharged from the latter on to the cleaning deck through the inward extensions 33 of such chutes. ,1

The deck consists of ribs 35 (Fig. 8) which support sheets of wire cloth 36 upon which are riilies 31, those in one section being-at right angles to those in the next. The cleaning deck is car'- ried by the cylinder 23 and is given a sort of jigging motion, at the same time that air is blown upward through the wire cloth.

The heavier refuse accumulates in the unobstructed annular passage 38 around the ends of the riilles and is'discharged by centrifugal action through openings in the cylindrical casing and into chutes 39 (forming downward extensions of the chutes 33) and thence out into suitable refuse Mptacles by chutes 4|) extending through the outer casing.

At the center of the cleaning deck there is a square opening which leads to a vertical casing 4| which is bridged near its upper end by a beam 42 which supports the central post 29 while leaving space for the downward passage of the cleaned coal. The casing 4| terminates in a downwardly tapering extension 43 which leads to a vertical Passage through a hollow central member 44 of the furnace; the casing 4| being connected by a flexible strip 45 of asbestos or the like with the top of the portion 44 of the furnace. Thus the cleaner separates the refuse from the good treated coal and discharges the latter either directly to a conveyor or throughthe hollow member 44 and extension 48 to the briquet former 2|.

The entrances to the refuse chutes 39 are fitted with gates 41, one or more of which may be closed to cause the refuse to be discharged at one, two or three points only if desired.

A middlings product consisting partly of refuse and partly of good material passes from one section of the cleaning deck to the adjacent section; for example, from 34* to 34', and continues to be treated until the separation is effected.

The inner cylinder 23 is supported at four points in its circumference by sloping toggle links 48 (Fig. 3) attached by pivot pins at upper and lower ends respectively to a bracket 49 on the inner cylinder and a bracket 50 on the outer, stationary, cylinder. 9

The movement of the inner cylinder within the outer one is guided by rollers and 52 at the bottom and top, which are arranged obliquely and mounted on pivots attached to the fixed cylinder i4. Wearing bars 53 on the inner cylinder bear against the rollers. v

The inner cylinder is oscillated by means of an eccentric drive, Figs. 3 and 6. The driving mechanism rotates the cylinder and. the supporting toggles convert the rotation into a helical movemounted on supports 6| IS. The shaft 60in turn carries a flywheel pulley ment. Compression coil springs 54 are located near the base of the inner cylinder. They assist the forward and upward stroke and absorb the shockof the return. The springs are carried between blocks 55 attached to the inner cylinder and blocks 56 attached to the outer stationary cylinder.

The driving mechanism consists of a flanged trunnion pin 51 and connected by an adjustable driving rod 58 to an eccentric 59 which is driven by a shaft 60 carried on the framework 62 which is driven by means of a belt 63 from a motor 64.

The rotary feeder I3 is driven from a shaft 65 mounted on the top of the apparatus and driven in turn by a sprocket chain 66 extending down to the shaft 60.

Various other arrangements may be used for driving the parts described. Both cylinders l4 and 23 are supplied with manholes and other openings, as usual in such apparatus for access to parts requiring attention. These openings are mounted on the inner cylinder closed while the machine is in operation and the flexible connections between the inner and the outer cylinders are also substantially air-tight.

The air which is blown or'drawn through the apparatus is taken from the surrounding atmosphere under the general atmospheric conditions and is delivered through air ducts l8 to the furnace.

, The furnace consists of an annular grate 61 extending over the space between the central the usual doors 69, or other arrangements, for feeding the coal to the grate. The air may pass by, the branches 10 to the lower part of the furnace and through the burning coal, or by branches 1| to the space above the burning coal.

Dampers are provided in the two branches for regulating the proportions of air so as to provide a temperature sufficient to ensure the drying and softening of the material to the extent desired. This temperature would be approximately 600 degrees F. for bituminous coal, and higher for some materials.

On account of the increased temperature of the air its humidity is lowered and its ailinity for moisture increased. As it passes up through the apparatus it supplies a dehydrating atmosphere throughout the cylinder 23. From the furnace it passes first through the wire cloth of the cleaning deck lifting the lighter particles over the ribs 31 and gradually moving them toward the center to the exit point.

From the space between the cleaning deck and the solid plate 32, air ducts 12 (Figs. 4 and 9) extend upward and open into the space above the cone 3| and below the inverted cone 30. The damp mass of material is broken up by the shaking and passage of it over the perforated plates so that practically each particle of itis exposed to the dehydrating air which fills the cylinder 23 and escapes near the top by the pipes 20. Thus the product is dried in the upper part of the cylinder; is cleaned and the refuse ejected at the cleaning deck, and the dried cleaned product is discharged through the center of the apparatus.

Particular attention 'is directed to the fact that as shown in the drawings (Figure4) the coal falls on the center of the perforated cone 28 and wall 44 and the surrounding wall 68. There are 34 that the upward air pressure is through this perthe perforated cones 2 8 acaaeas and spreads over the said plate and this air disturbs the particles of the material so that the smaller heavy particles flow through the said plate onto the cone 3!] below it while the ,larger' heavy particles flow down over the said perforated plate and through the space between its edge and the inner periphery of the cylinder 22 and these heavier particles flow down the perforated cone 30 and these are disturbed again by the air flowing through the perforated plate, and these particles then flow through the opening in the center of the perforated cone or plate 30 and fall on the upper pointed end of the perforated cone 3| when these particles spread out over the said cone 3!. It will thus be seen that and 30 act as means to first separate the particles according to size and break them up and secondly to break up the larger particles flowing around the periphery of the cone 28 and that the upward pressure of air through the three separating and breaking cones 28, 30 and 3t serve to cause the particles to spread out and the said particles to be individually heated andthe smaller lighter particles to be carried upward to and to be discharged through the pipe 20, such for instancev as the dust caused by this breaking up etc.

Attention is also'directed to the fact that this cleaning and separating machine has its base portion formed of an annular furnace 67 and that the center of this annular furnace is provided with a central tube that extends through it' to the center coal discharge $3 for the separator 35. Attention is also directed to the fact that the furnace is in open communication with the lower end of the cylinder 23 so that all of its heat flows freely to the separator immediately above. According ,to this arrangement the .coal is first broken and separated and its individual parts heated and the particles thus heated and broken are fed to the separator where' they are subjected to the greatest amount of heat serving to put the coal in a soft condition for being formed into briquettes-or the separated coal.to be discharged through the central tube 6% of the said furnace.

When it is desired to remove .dust from the material being treated, the air may be made to serve as a de-dusting medium to a greater or less extent. For this purpose the air should be passed through the apparatus at such a veloc ity as to carry out of the discharge pipes 28 a considerable quantity of dust. In this case. it will generally be advisable to arrange some form of dust collector in series with the discharge conduits so as to pass the dust laden air through them. The quantity and size of the particles of dust removed can be governed by the velocity of the air. Y

My present apparatus has several advantages over that described in my previous Patent 1,888,- 636. It is more compact. It uses only. three cones and one cleaning deck. It is better adapted to the drying operation contemplated because each of the three cones 28, 30 and 3| is perforated so as to spread the'material and expose the particles while thus separated to the upward current of air and the current of air passes through the holes in the screens; whereas in the prior patent the first and third cones fed the material ina fairly solid stream around their outer edges. In fact the earlienapparatus is not designed for drying the coal.

In the new machine a damp matted mass of material is broken up on each screen and each particle is exposed to contact with the dehydrat- 'wheat is classified through the cylinder 23 3 ing column of air, and the column chair is continuously' of the full cross section of the inner cylinder. This construction is designed also to securethe desired heating effect,' which is particularly important with material that is to be 6 briquetted. The flexible packing rings25' and 26 retain the hot air column within the inner cylinder. No such packings are described in the prior patent nor would they be of any special importance there. V 4 The present invention makes a double use of the air in providing the desired flotation on the cleaning deck and then in drying the material which is separated into small particles by the conical screens; and makes a third use of the same column of airjwhen de-dustihg is practiced.

The differences in, construction, therefore, serve functions, andpurposes in the present invention which were not intended nor accomplished by the earlier machine. 4

The screens separate the materials chiefly according to size. The cleaning table or deck 34 separates them according to specific gravity. The particles of coal are lighter than the particles of slate and other refuse accompanying it and are lifted by the air and gradually fed to the central chute iii and out through the bottom of the apparatus while the refuse moves outward and is ejected through the lateral chutes 40. Grain is generally heavier than the particles of refuse to be rejected. The apparatus, therefore, will discharge the grain through the lateral chutes and the refuse at the bottom of the apparatus. Where the refuse is of two kinds, one heavier and the other lighter than the grain, the clean grain may be obtained in two operations. In the first operation the grain and the lighter refuse (or a part thereof) will be discharged at the bottom of the apparatus and this 40 the apparatus in a second operation which will discharge the iighter giefuse at the bottom and the clean grain at the des.

The apparatus can materials which are originally a mixture of heavier and lighter grains or particles. For example, as No. 1, containing six y the bushel, and No. 2 containing less than sixty pounds to the bushel. The original grain passed through the machine will be separated into No. 1 discharged through the side chutes and No. 2 discharged through the bottom of the apparatus.

In treating grain there will also be an advan- 55 tage in the removal of moisture which is generally found on the surface and also within the grains. The temperature will be regulated so. as to remove as much of the moisture as possible without being high enough to cook or injure the grain. The removal of moisture is desirable in that it saves cost of transportation.

The size and proportions of the apparatus may be modified to best fit it for the material to be 65 treated and the cleaning, classifying, drying and dusting functions desired.

As previously stated herein the air pounds or more to pass n is heated to a temperature approximately 600 F. when treating coal, and the air therein is heated to a high temperature and the air is drawn through the exitpipes' 20 by means of a suitable fan. The coal being treated flows through the hopper l2 into the upper end of the cylinder it. The individual 75 also'b'e used to classify 45 I 5 heated before V oles while on the separators 30 cluding in combination a particles therefore when falling space onto the perforated cone surface 28 are subjected to the high temperature in the said apparatus and the individual particles thereby and after reaching the perforated the same is true before and after and the parti- This heated air through this cone 28 and reaching the perforated cone.

being drawn through the apparatus rapidly heats through the pipes 20 This rapidly moving hot from 500 to 1200- feet per individual particles of coal hot air for about one minute, there is a stream of hot air from 500 to 1200 feet long passing by and sur- 1 rounding the individual particles of the said coal. The temperature and also the speed of the air is controlled by suitable gates (as previously stated) located in the air inlets and outlets (as heretofore stated), thus varying the speed as well as the temperature.

Various modifications may bemade by those 2 skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined what I claim is: 1. An apparatus form of a damp mass in the following claims.

of grains 01' particles inclosed casing through the. top of which the material is admitted, a succession of perforated inclined drying plates within said casing over and through which the material passes downward and is spread out and exposed in separated small particles, a cleaner to which the material passes from said plates and means for passing heated air in a continuous stream through said cleaner and said succession of plates to dry and heat the material, said plates and cleaner being carried fixedly by an inner casing lying within the closed casing, the inner casing being open only at the upper and lower ends and being connected by substanl tially tight flexible connections to the outer casing and means for giving a jigging motion to the inner casing:

2. An apparatus for treating material in the form of a damp mass of grains or particles in- 1 cluding in combination a closed casing through the top of which the material is admitted, perforated drying plates within said casing through which the material passes downward and is exposed in separated small'particles, a cleaner to 2 which the material passes from said plates, means for giving a jigging motion to the inner casing. a device for providing a continuous supply of heated air, the irmer casing being open at its. upper and lower end below said cleaner and being connected by substantially air tight joint to said device for supplying l eated air so as to prevent such air from passing between the two casings and to pass it in a. continuous stream through the cleaner and through said succession of plates to dry and heat the materal.

EDWARD OTOOLE.

said lower end extending 2 

